Pre Lyoko and What Happens When it Reimerges
by Cyanide 6
Summary: Ever wonder how Odd can be so lighthearted despite being in danger? Or why Jeremie can program what most believe impossible? It would appear their connections with the skilled assassin team, the Nightshades is closer than anyone could have imagined... When someone from their prelyoko lives return they must balance the new factor with Lyoko. JxA UxY maybe some JxOc or OxOc
1. Prologue

Jeremie tore through the warehouse, his goal, a small computer chip, in his pocket. He was wearing a fully concealing. Ninja-like, outfit, and dark shades to hide his identity.

Behind him ran the assassin, hired by X.A.N.A, wearing similar garb as Jeremie, though without the shades, as they had been knocked off.

As he ran he heard only silence, both of their footsteps were silently undetectable, giving him no idea of how close his pursuer was.

He raced down a hallway, and skidded to a halt at the dead-end.

He whipped around, to find the assassin right behind him, pointing a gun at him.

"End of the line," the assassin said.

Jeremie froze one hand in his pocket, the other slightly shielding his face. He realized that their wasn't any way out of this now. He realized that this whole thing felt like some kinda sick irony, that he would be taken out by a hired assassin. He realized that this was the end of the line.

Then… he realized something else.

.

There were only two more sounds in the abandoned warehouse that night.

The quiet clatter as he knocked his shades to the floor, and then the sound of the assassin's weapon… falling to the floor.

The assassin bolted from the warehouse.

Jeremie made his way back to the factory, triumphant but quiet.

He had a lot to think about


	2. Chapter 1

**One**

"Yumi get down!" Ulrich shouted over the sound of X.A.N.A possessed robots, firing their guns at the rock four of the Lyoko warriors hid behind.

They were at a replika, but, since the Skid had been destroyed, they now had to go to the replikas in person, until Jeremie rebuilt the Skid. He had some good news, though. He had just found a chip that would help rebuild the Skid.

But, it wouldn't help if they all died here. Which seemed like exactly what was going to happen.

"Jeremie! Jeremie, please answer! We're stuck, we can't get out! They've surrounded us!"

"Hey, help me with Yumi!" Ulrich shouted.

The group had lost contact with Jeremie, Yumi had been shot badly in the arm, and Aelita's ankle was sprained.

"We're going to die!" Aelita shrieked, putting her phone down.

"A little help here!" Ulrich was trying to staunch the bleeding in Yumi's arm.

"We're going to die!" Aelita's out-of-her-head panicked voice brought Odd back down to Earth.

"We're not gonna die, unless you freak yourself to death," he joked.

Ulrich glared. "Quit joking, Odd. Do **you** see away out of this?"

Odd did, in fact. He saw several ways out.

"I'm on it," he tossed back.

Odd grabbed a pocketknife and quickly adhered it to a pole.

Then, he leaped out from behind the shelter, sprung into some complicated twisting acrobatic, and began leaping over the robots, which tried to shoot at him. Flailing, twisting, flipping, and spinning, Odd lithely made his way to the supercomputer that powered the robots.

Ulrich watched, horrified, as Odd continued to **just** avoid the lethal shots.

Finally, he landed at the supercomputer and deftly struck his makeshift spear into it.

Odd flipped off, just in time, as the supercomputer exploded.

He landed next to Ulrich.

"See, nothing to it!"

Later, back at the factory, Jeremie was scolding Odd loudly for being so reckless.

Odd watched Jeremie, with a zoned out look on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, Einstein, I get it. 'Don't act recklessly', next time I'll just let them blow us to smithereens."

Jeremie sighed.

Aelita watched them argue, then turned to Ulrich, who was bandaging Yumi's arm with uncharacteristic gentleness. They were talking quietly, and Aelita turned away as to not eavesdrop.

As they walked back to Kadic, Ulrich and Yumi were talking about the mission.

"I thought we were going to die right then! I was trying to aim my last shot- Don't look at me like that, Ulrich! I have perfectly good aim."

"Yeah, unless you just got your arm shot off!" He laughed back.

"I knew what I was doing," Yumi grumbled.

Odd and Jeremie were talking quietly.

"I ran into Belladonna the other day," Jeremie said. "Still in the biz I guess."

Odd laughed.

"Belladonna?" Aelita asked. "As in Atropa Belladonna, the plant?"

"Yeah," Odd said. "Kiwi keeps eating the berries; their making him sick."

"Yet another reason why you should be more careful Odd," Jeremie said, meaningfully.

Odd frowned, then shrugged. "Hey princess, could you help me and Ulrich with our work later. I know he needs help, and I need help with math and science."

She sighed, "If you weren't so busy working, Jeremie, I'd ask you to help. What does Ulrich need help with?"

Odd shrugged. "I don't know. Why don't you ask him?"

Aelita sighed, and walked ahead to talk to Ulrich. As soon as she was out of earshot, Jeremie hissed to Odd, "Nice one, genius, if a dog the size of Kiwi ate more than one or two berries, he'd be dead. Try to think next time."

"Alright, but still, tell me more about Belladonna."


	3. Chapter 2

**Two**

Aelita sat in her bed that night, reading a diary of her mother's that Jeremie had found while searching Aelita's families old winter-house. While it thrilled Aelita that he had found this, she was worried that he continued to make these trips on his own. Aelita didn't like the idea of Jeremie traveling to remote locations, on his own, despite his assurances that he would be fine. But, she knew it was necessary, even though she didn't like their method of transportation.

Due to the lack of easy transportation, via the Skid, the Lyoko warriors had turned to more standard modes of transportation. Airplanes, trains, boats… anything to get them to their destination, generally replikas.

Aelita had felt really bad about this, at first. Jeremie would find a plane heading toward their destination, reschedule four of the passengers' , and give the tickets to the traveling Lyoko Warriors, via the supercomputer's impressive hacking system. Then, he would send clones to school in their places. He had worked a lot on the cloning process, making it hard for X.A.N.A to possess them. If X.A.N.A did, then the clone would lose its extra strength, making it not worth X.A.N.A's time. Besides, if there were clones out, it meant that the Lyoko Warriors were attacking his replikas.

But, Aelita had long learned to ignore the guilt of cheating people out of their plane tickets and making clones take their place at school. After all, as Jeremie had pointed out, there isn't an option. And, they **are** doing this to save the world, which is a little more important.

Aelita flipped the page in Anthea's diary, to find a picture of Aelita tearing through wrapping paper, on her third birthday.

Jeremie had told her that there was hope of locating her mother, one of the reasons he kept making these trips. Jeremie had it harder; his clone was the only one who did not have an exact copy of his personality. When he fixed the cloning process, he had made sure the clones would act the same as the person they were cloned after. That way, no one would be suspicious, and the clone could tell the Lyoko Warrior what he or she missed in class. Jeremie's clone was very much different from him, but Jeremie always already knew everything that they covered in class, so there was no harm done if his clone didn't tell him what they covered.

Aelita still wondered how he did it.

Suddenly the door burst open. Aelita jumped out of bed, in time for a bullet to be shot over her head. Aelita froze, staring at the assassin framed in her doorway reloading a sniper pistol.

The assassin turned toward Aelita, and held a finger up to its lips. Then it took aim again.

Aelita screamed. There really was no reason to not, it wasn't as if the assassin would show her mercy if she didn't. She cringed when she heard someone speak.

"What are you doing?" A calm voice came from the hall. The assassin whipped around. Aelita saw Jeremie and Odd in the hall, amused expressions on their faces.

"Really," Odd piped up, "is there any reason to kill Jeremie's girlfriend?"

Jeremie elbowed Odd. "It's been a while." He said to the assassin. "Why don't you come up to my room?"

To Aelita's shock, the assassin followed the boys up. Her mind raced for answers. The boys were clones, possessed by X.A.N.A. to hire an assassin to kill her. The boys were possessed. X.A.N.A. had told the boys that Aelita was possessed.

She shook her head, clearing it of her wild thoughts, and instead called Yumi, to ask for her opinion on what was going on.

While she waited for Yumi to pick up, she thought of something. The assassin's concealing, ninja-like garb was identical to the one that Jeremie wore when going on undercover missions, down to the clasps on the dark glasses.

Jeremie said he had made it himself, and that he would make identical outfits for the rest.

But Aelita's had been slightly different. Not overly noticeably, but different. The fabric was different, the shoes had a different pattern… Yumi's was different, too. So was Ulrich's. And…

No, not Odd's. Odd's was the exact same as Jeremie's. Which meant… something was up.

When Yumi's phone ran over to voice mail, Aelita told her to meet her at Jeremie's room. She called Ulrich, and told him the same thing.

Then, aware that it was, perhaps, a risky plan of action, but not willing to wait any longer for answers, Aelita left her room and headed for Jeremie's room.

She reached the room and listened in. She heard only whispers of some quiet conversation. Probably conversation between Jeremie, Odd, and the assassin.

When Ulrich arrived she beckoned him away from the door a little, so they wouldn't be heard.

"What is it, Princess?"

"Something's… not right," she said slowly.

Ulrich sighed. "You called me up here to tell me 'something's not right'?"

Aelita frowned. "An assassin just tried to kill me, actually. But, there's something weird about it."

Ulrich blinked at her. "Well, yeah something's weird," he whispered. "An assassin just tried to kill you."

"There's more than that, but I'm gonna wait for Yumi to come, so I don't have to repeat myself."

When Yumi arrived, Aelita filled both of them in on her thoughts as well as what had happened in her room.

Yumi frowned, puzzled. "What do the outfits have to do with anything?"

"Our stealth outfits are the same as each other's," Aelita explained. "But Jeremie's and Odd's are the same as the assassin's. I just thought it was weird."

"You're right," Ulrich said. "And the only people we're going to get answers from are in that room." He pointed at Jeremie's room.

Yumi looked hesitant. "Is that wise? If Odd and Jeremie are in cahoots with the assassin, then maybe we shouldn't break his door down now."

"Does it really matter?" Ulrich asked. "If Jeremie and Odd didn't want us dead, then they won't kill us. If they do want us dead, then they wouldn't have waited until we burst down the door. Besides, they'd just send the assassin to kill us later." He looked at the girls. "We know Jeremie and Odd don't want us dead. They keep risking their lives to save us on Lyoko. There's got to be a logical explanation."

"I agree," Aelita said.

"Alright," Yumi said, uncertainly.

Aelita went up and knocked on the door.

It cracked open to reveal part of Jeremie's face.

"Yes," he asked.

Aelita blinked at his natural tone of voice.

"Can I… come in?" She asked, cautiously.

"Now isn't really the best time," he said, apologetically. "Sorry."

"Well…" Aelita started.

"Oh for heavens sake!" Yumi said, pushing past Aelita. "We know there's an assassin in your room, and we know you and Odd know something about it."

Jeremie blinked, then sighed. His eyes shifted from side to side. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Jeremie," Ulrich said. "You know we can. We kept Aelita and Lyoko a secret."

"I guess so," he looked unconvinced. "Do you promise not to tell anyone? It really won't affect you if you don't know. The assassin won't come again, I promise."

Yumi shook her head. "You're not going to get away with that."

He sighed. "Do you promise?"

"Yes," Aelita said.

The others both agreed.

"Well, then, I guess you can come in."

He opened the door, and they entered his room.


	4. Chapter 3

**Three**

The first thing Aelita saw when she entered the room was a blond girl, maybe 14, sitting on Jeremie's bed next to Odd.

Her presence made no sense to Aelita, until she noticed the black clothes she was wearing.

"You're the assassin?"

The blonde cocked a head at her. "Aelita," she said, her tone light but guarded. "We've met."

"Like a second ago! And Jeremie, why are you just sitting in here, chatting with a-a-a murdered, like it's the most natural thing?"

"Well, gee, princess, you've never begrudged talking to us before," Odd said.

"You're not murderers! She could have killed me and **you** invite her up to chat! She was trying to kill me in case you've forgotten!"

"She has got to be the **nicest** girl I've ever met," the assassin said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Really, Ice-stroke, you couldn't have done **any** better? Remind why I didn't shoot."

"Because of Danny, and Alex, and Javier, and Cameron, and every other boy you'd thought was cute that we were ordered to fire on."

"What the hell are you talking about, Jeremie" Yumi snapped. "We came to get answers so could you please explain!"

"Well," Odd said. "It all started, when, when we were like, what, six?"

"What started, Odd please make sense," Ulrich said.

"Wow," the assassin smirked. "You boys left the world of sniping snipers, to get involved in the world of snapping snappers."

"Would you all just shut up!" Jeremie shouted. "I can't even hear myself think, rather less get you all to!" He pointed at the assassin. "Everyone, this is Belladonna, Belladonna, this is Ulrich, Aelita, and Yumi."

She looked them up and down. "Nice group you got yourself. Are they always this grumpy?"

"Only when our friends are being shot at?" Yumi snapped.

"Friends? As in the plural? As in more than one friend being shot at? I didn't know you told them about our little… run in."

"I didn't," Jeremie replied shortly.

"Bad grammar, then?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"Shut up," Ulrich growled.

She snorted.

Jeremie glared. Yumi, Aelita, and Ulrich all felt a shiver run up their spines. A shiver that silenced the room.

"I'll explain if you shut up. All of you." He looked around the room. "Good. Now, like Odd said, it started when we were about six. Odd, Bella, and I were all going to the same elementary school. We banded together and made a little group we called the Nightshades."

Yumi gave a little gasp, and Ulrich frowned suspiciously.

"We each had individual skills, and we used these to spy on our classmates, neighbors, teachers, anyone, actually. It wasn't like our parents were home at the time. These excursions eventually led up to what you know today. Bella was really flexible, she could contort herself quickly and in any shape you could ask. Odd was the gymnast, he could flip, jump, roll, anything. I had-"

"Aim," Ulrich said.

Jeremie smiled. "You see where this is going."

Yumi shook her head. "You're kidding me. You're the Nightshades?"

"Were," Odd said. "We disbanded a year ago, when our parents sent us to Kadic. We realized things would be too risky to continue."

"**I** never stopped," Belladonna said. "I kept up my work."

"That's 'cause you could. It wouldn't be easy for us to, what with teachers always around. Besides," Odd smiled. "We have a new secret."

"X.A.N.A? He doesn't sound very fun to me." Belladonna rolled her eyes.

"You told her about X.A.N.A?" Yumi asked.

"Naw," Belladonna said. "He hired me."

"X.A.N.A hired her!"

"Wait wait wait!" Aelita shrieked. Everyone turned to her. "What are the Nightshades?"

Belladonna smirked. "Only **the MOST** feared team of freelance assassins, like, **ever**!"

Aelita blinked. "What?"

Ulrich frowned. "They were a team of assassins that anyone could hire, provided they had the money."

"No one knew anything about them," Yumi said "except their fighting methods. Belladonna was extremely flexible and her signature weapon were small hypodermics, each loaded with enough poison to kill someone, quickly. Panther, I suppose is Odd, was the quick gymnast, specialized in knowledge of human anatomy; one hit from him could disable a limb or even kill someone, depending on where he hit them. Ice-stroke, Jeremie, had aim and an arsenal of razor sharp daggers that he carried always up his sleeves, though he was also well known for being able to cause physical reactions with his eyes. He could glare at someone and they would shiver and get a feeling of deep unease. Then they would usually die." She glared at Odd and Jeremie. "I don't know what to think now."

Odd sighed at the three's incredulous looks. "Look, it wasn't that bad. You guys only know what we wanted the public to know. If someone wants someone else dead, we usually assume that that person did something to deserve it. Unless their crazy, and then we don't do what they say anyway."

Jeremie sighed. "You give us a little to much credit. But we had a job and we did it. Soldiers have jobs to execute-"

"And we had people to execute," Belladonna crowed.

Jeremie looked at her. "Really? Why are you baiting Aelita? What do you have against her?"

Belladonna shrugged. "She screams a lot."

Aelita glared. "What were you saying about a run in?"

Jeremie and Belladonna explained what happened in the warehouse a week back.

"See, in the past we have been set against each other. Sometimes some people hire us to try and kill each other. Since we're all covered up it would be easy for us to mistaken each other," Jeremie said.

"So we learned to recognize each other by our eyes. When Icy saw Bella's eyes, he knocked his glasses off to showcase his own."

"Shoulda just glared at me," Belladonna said. "Anyway, after that I ran back to find this X.A.N.A. We have a policy that if you try to get us to kill each other, we would kill you. But, I couldn't find him. Later I got a job from someone signed by a weird target sign, telling me to knock off a girl. He gave me where she lived and what she looked like, but no name. He never gave me names, even with Jeremie. Obviously. I think he didn't want me to connect the two jobs, so he contacted me via little legged target signs." She put up her hands defensively. "How was I supposed to know that was X.A.N.A again. At the time I was just looking for a job."

"Alright, alright, enough of that," said Odd. "Bella has some important news."

All eyes turned on the assassin. She smiled. "Your pal X.A.N.A has paid off several rich, powerful, and corrupt people to nuke each other. These people have nuclear weapons and are willing to use them. If this ensues, we will have nuclear holocaust." She looked up at Odd and Jeremie. "This is your jurisdiction Icy, Panther. What should we do?"

Yumi sighed. As much as she felt she should hate them for being assassins, she couldn't. Like Jeremie had said, they were soldiers of a different sort. She could tell Aelita and Ulrich had similar thoughts.

"The thing is," Aelita said. "As Lyoko Warriors, we can't really do anything. If he's paid them off, then it's not a matter of deactivating a tower, or fixing a program implanted in someone's head…" She shook her head.

"I agree," Yumi said. "But short of stealing their weapons or sabotaging their plans, I don't know what else to do."

"Well, we have a problem," Belladonna said. "'Cause X.A.N.A's paid these guys weeks ago. You don't have time."

"I have an idea," Ulrich said. "You're not gonna like it, but I don't see us having another choice. X.A.N.A doesn't know that Belladonna's friends with Jeremie and Odd, we can use that to our advantage. See, X.A.N.A doesn't think we know about this, but he'd figure that we'd go after the weapons, not the people. My guess is X.A.N.A has the nuclear weapons very well. But I don't think he's guarded the people he's paid off…"

Aelita gave him a sharp look. "Are you saying that we should kill them?"

There was a paused.

"No," he responded. "I think the Nightshades should."


	5. Chapter 4

**Four**

Odd opened his closet.

"You kept your assassin stuff in there?" Ulrich gaped at Odd.

He shrugged. "Yeah, don't tell Icy though. You know Jeremie, he's all big on secrecy."

"But-but I've **been** through the closet before, there's nothing in there!"

It was the next day, a Sunday, and the Lyoko Warriors were helping the Nightshades prepare for their excursions.

Odd pulled out a box that had been sitting on the rack. "You never went through my boxes." He reached up and pulled out another one.

"I-I," Ulrich said weakly, as Odd pulled down another box, "I always thought that they had stuff for Kiwi in them, I never thought…" Ulrich threw his hands up.

Odd opened one of the boxes. He pulled out a small stealth sniper (**AN: I'm not going to use real gun names)**. "Hold this for me."

Ulrich held the gun like it was, well, a gun. "I thought you guys used your special attacks."

"We do," Odd was rummaging through a box, tossing aside bubble wrap. "These are only for people without bullet-proof clothes. Trust me, most people wear enough bulletproof stuff that it's easier to fight them up close. They're generally about 78% covered in bullet-proof stuff," he handed two grenades to Ulrich, "so it's easier to get up close and attack them, you know, find the outfit's weaknesses. It's harder to riddle them with shots, cause from far away, you can't tell what's bullet-proof or not."

"What's this?" Ulrich held up a small spherical appliance, with blinking red lights.

"That? Oh, that's just a- wait. ARGH!" He grabbed it and began fiddling with it. "Jeesh, Ulrich, you almost blew us up!" He shook his head. "That's a bomb, please don't play with it. You may not believe me," he said, tossing another bomb, this one not blinking, to Ulrich, "but I take my job very seriously."

Ulrich looked at the weapons and gadgets strewn across the floor.

"Yeah, I can tell."

.

Jeremie walked to a spot on the floor. He ran his finger across the lines, tracing a pattern that Aelita couldn't see. Then a panel on the wall opened, revealing a keyboard.

"You don't need to worry about accidentally tracing the sensors on the ground, it only responds to my DNA." Aelita had to be impressed by the tech Jeremie used.

He went up to the keyboard on the wall, and began to tap a code into it. "Same here," he said. "This is a touch screen that only responds to my DNA and fingerprints." Once he finished typing the thirty character code, a screen popped up on his computer. It was to blurry for Aelita to make out.

"This is a nifty trick I installed. Basically, only my eyes, without glasses, can read it." He began clicking and typing.

Aelita watched, fascinated, as Jeremie then went to various spots on the walls. He ran his fingers around the spots, causing openings to appear, revealing more touch screens. When he finished doing six of these, he grabbed Aelita's arm.

"Come on!" He said.

"How exactly do those touch screens work?" She asked him quietly, as they ran through the school.

"Well…" the two talked technology, until they were in the forest.

Jeremie held up a hand to stop Aelita. He walked over to a tree stump. A blue light shot out of the stump and scanned him. It disappeared, and Jeremie opened a compartment and pulled out a small computer chip.

Aelita's eyes shown with excitement as she examined the fine detail.

"And back we go again!" Jeremie exclaimed. "I really think you'll appreciate the stuff I've got."

Back to Jeremie's room they went, with the computer chip. He ran it through his computer, and opened his closet.

"I had to build the secret compartment at the back. It's titanium lined, nearly impossible to break open." He pushed some clothes back and opened the door that had been opened by the computer chip. "It took me weeks to build-" he looked up at Aelita. "Actually, that's what I was doing in the factory, hiding my stuff until I finished. Now come on." He waved her inside the secret room. "The dorm rooms actually have lots of space between them, plenty of space to build this."

Aelita gasped as she entered. Rows of weapon cases and computer screens surrounded her in the small room. Jeremie opened one case. "Check this out…"

Aelita leaned closer and Jeremie began explaining,

.

"So," said Belladonna, walking through the woods with Yumi, "when did you meet Icy and Panther."

Yumi paused. "Jeremie told you about Lyoko, right?"

"He didn't tell me how it was found, just the cliffnotes. And I **can** be trusted, you know that, right?"

Yumi sighed. "Well, yeah, I mean, he trusts you with his life."

She smiled. "Good. Miss Pink doesn't, and I'm not sure about Tall Cute and Brooding."

Yumi blushed, and Belladonna's eyes lit up. "I knew it! Ah, well, you can keep him. He's not exactly my type anyway."

"Glad I have your permission Belladonna," Yumi said, lightly.

She smiled. "Bella, please. Belladonna is what people whisper when they're shaking in there boots. Bella's what my friends call me. And, before you ask, no it's not my real name."

"Well, duh."

Bella led her to the middle of the forest. She walked into some dense foliage. Yumi followed to find herself face to face, well, actually, face to metal wall, with the smallest helicopter she'd ever seen.

"Easiest way to travel," Bella called from inside. "More convenient than public transportation, smaller and more wieldy than planes, has a modifiable exterior so that it can blend in, and it's the quietest helicopter, like, ever."

Yumi couldn't help but be impressed. She stared at it.

"Well, hop in!" Bella called.

Soon the two girls were flying high above the city. "I've programmed a basic, cloudy sky blue pattern, so that it's undetectable to human eye."

Yumi had never had a fear of heights, but being in a tiny flying helicopter, which appeared invisible, definitely gave her a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. She gave a nervous giggle, something she wasn't used to.

Bella smiled, delighted in Yumi's excitement.

"So," Bella said. "You never answered my question on how you guys met."

Yumi began telling their story.

Soon the two had landed in a forest. They sank below the tree line, then they sunk below the ground level.

"We're going underground?"

"Yup," Bella said.

Once it landed the girls hopped out. Yumi followed Bella through the underground base.

"Is this yours, or is it, like, the Nightshade's?"

"It used to be the Nightshade's. Since I'm the only one left, I get to use it for my self."

They walked into the main room, a strange room. It was big, and full of computers and weapons and stuff, but it also had couches and fridges and TVs. It was a weird mix of high-tech underground lair and a well furnished, expensive, living space. There was even a pool room.

Bella noted Yumi's expression. She smiled. "Look at it this way. We were a bunch of ten-year-olds with no parents around, and more money than most people dream of. We did what we wanted."

Yumi looked around in awe.

"Are you gonna help me or what?"

Yumi blinked, then rushed over to help Bella move her weapons and equipment to the helicopter.

"So," said Yumi. "Why is it that you seem to hate Aelita so much?"

Bella paused. "Well, the thing is…" she blushed. "I guess I don't feel that she deserves him. When I met Icy, he was this six-year-old who got picked on by everyone. I came to his defense, and fought to keep them from bullying him. That's one of the reasons that we started learning self-defense. I just feel… not protective, but possessive. **I** was his friend, me and Panthy. I guess I should have expected him to get new friends, but I can't help but feel that I'm still his original friend." She shrugged. "It's sorta like seeing your boyfriend move on. Though, Icy and I never liked each other. Maybe an occasional crush, but it was mostly me and Panthy."

"You and Odd like each other?"

She shrugged. "Well, yeah! I mean, nothing serious. Just the occasional flirt."

Yumi nodded.

The two girls continued filling the helicopter.

.

"Great Odd, just look at this mess!" Ulrich looked around at the things, strewn all over the floor. "I could step on something and-and-"

"Shoot yourself in the foot?"

The door opened. "What are you up to?" Sissi stuck her head in.

"Nothing," Odd said. "Just cleaning up props for a play!"

Sissi blinked. "Wow. Well, anyway, I heard shouting and things dropping, so I thought I'd pop in." She batted her eyes at Ulrich.

"Err," he stammered. "That was Odd tossing the, props around."

"Huh, well, alright. Where did you get these?"

Odd laughed. "My parents. I swear, ask them for one and they'll send a cartful!"

Sissi sighed and left.

Ulrich ran up and locked the door. "Man Odd! At least lock the door!"

"I thought I did!"

"Are you always this bad?"

"Not in mission-mode."

"Mission-mode?"

"Yeah, it's the sort of mind frame we get into when going on missions. So I make act blasé now, but on missions I'm one tough cat!"

That's when Ulrich's mind made the connection. "CAT! That's why you're a cat!"

Odd grinned. "Yup. Ya know, sometimes I wonder what Einstein thought when I came out as a cat on Lyoko."

"Ever ask him?"

Odd shrugged. "Yeah, I figured, good ole Einstein remembers things that pictures leave out. So I asked him, but apparently it's hard to remember things that never happened."

"Huh?"

"Well, remember the first return-trip? Jeremie wasn't scanned. So his thoughts then will be forever forgotten."

Just then there was a knock on the door.

Odd peeked out. "Oh hi Icy, hi princess," Ulrich heard Odd laugh, nervously. The door slid open and Jeremie and Aelita stepped in. "Well, I told Ulrich not to touch anything, but he got all excited when he saw the guns," Odd babbled.

Jeremie surveyed the mess of weapons on the floor.

"-told him to stop throwing them, but did he listen?"

"Quiet Odd, I know you're lying. Pick this up." Ulrich heard the cold authority in Jeremie's voice and could tell that, as the brains of the group, he often called the shots, and his word was law. Odd obediently began scrambling to pick up the weapons.

"When your done, Aelita and I will be in the factory. Bring your stuff there."

Aelita gave Ulrich a look that said 'Isn't this stuff cool?'

Ulrich gave her a look that said 'if you say so."

They left.

Ulrich glanced at Odd. "Is Jeremie like your leader?"

Odd winced. "Not leader. We don't have a leader, really. He does call most of the shots, as he is the genius, and the most cautious."

"Well you seemed pretty cowed when he told you pick this up. He also seemed more angry than I'd expect…"

"Ulrich, everything in here is lethal and illegal. If anyone with an IQ one point higher than Sissi had come in, it could've been a big problem. Jeremie's got a reason to be miffed. Now help me load the boxes. The stuff on the right either won't help us, is broken, or is outdated, you put those in these boxes." He gestured to some boxes on the side. "I'll load up the stuff on the left, which is what we want, and I'll put them in these boxes here."

The two set to work.

"Odd, explain the names. I don't really get them."

"Well, Ice-Stroke. He's got the eyes that send a shiver down your spine and makes you feel unsettled. Belladonna. A very toxic plant. She fights with toxins, get it. Panther. I attack by hopping around until I see an opening. I'm light on my feet and lithe and quick. Ergo, cat, Panther. Capeesh?"

"Yeah."

"So help me hoist these boxes."

Ulrich bent down and picked up two. Odd did the same.

Ulrich felt strange, knowing that he had enough weaponry on him to take out the whole school probably the whole town.

.

Yumi looked out the window. "How far away from the school are we?"

"About a hundred miles. This baby is fast, I tell you."

"No kidding! Wow!" Yumi watched Bella, who was fingering a hypodermic. She caught Yumi staring at her.

"I hide them in the sheathes in my sleeves. They actually have little machines in them, that release the poisons in them when the needles reach a certain temperature. It has to be the tips. So, basically they release their poison when they puncture human skin. Most of them contain enough poison to kill someone in about twenty seconds. Some have more, some have less. Some just knock out, some paralyze. Icy has it similar, he sometimes uses darts instead of knives. Panther also knows how to have the same results, depending on where he hits you."

They landed in the forest outside the factory.

Both girls lifted a large case of weapons and set off toward the factory.

**What do you think? Please review!**


	6. Chapter 5

**So, yeah, this chapter's long, and a bit confusing. Sorry in advance.**

**Five**

"So, my thoughts are, before we run after some of the most protected people on Earth, we should practice a little," Bella announced when they got to the factory.

Odd nodded. "Thing is, I don't think I've lost my ability, but I do think that I could use a little help, ya know, reawakening it."

Jeremie smiled. "Actually, Aelita came up with an excellent way of getting our abilities up to scratch. We'll have to go to the Amazon, where our best practice field is, then, instead of fighting mounted guns, or dodging pre set up traps, we use clones."

Aelita nodded. "Jeremie was telling me how he usually memorizes the practice fields, but it never mattered because he'd never gone long enough without missions to forget how to fight well. In order to keep things realistic, we could use real people, but that wouldn't work, seeing as I'm sure there are a lack of people willing to get killed in a practice session. That leaves-"

"Clones! Wow, Icy, for a pink haired nagger, she's got brains," Bella smirked.

Yumi elbowed her. "Did you think Jeremie would fall for a brainless floozy?"

"Anyway," Aelita said, ignoring the remarks, "that was my thought."

"Who'd clones would we use?" Ulrich asked. "It takes a lot out of the supercomputer to activate and maintain them, and are we just supposed to use our clones? It's not like we have the DNA of several security guards, stocked in the supercomputer's files."

There was a pause. "Well," Bella said, slowly, "Icy once downloaded the basic training for most guards, as well as a few higher class trainings. If he programmed the info into one of the clones' heads, would that work?"

Aelita exchanged a glance with Jeremie. He nodded.

"It should. We can use the teachers' clones, we have their DNA in the computer. We'll make them less powerful, of course, but we can alter their physical strength to be that of what we'd expect to find on our missions. As to the energy matter, it shouldn't matter, they won't be out long enough to cause any long-term energy depletion. So it's settled, we fly out to Amazone with the clones, practice there, until we're back in shape, and then we get to work."

"Amazone? And where are you gonna get the money?"

The three Nightshades exchanged looks. Odd grinned. "Well, one, Amazone is the name we, uh, I" he said, in response to the glares from his teammates "gave to our base in the Amazon. Two, money? Not much of a problem."

Yumi nodded. "If what Bella said was true, they have more than enough."

"So it's settled? Tomorrow starts a long weekend, so we'll fly out then."

.

Ulrich sat next to Odd on a flight. He had a strange sense of excitement and dread. It wasn't everyday that you got to see one of the most infamous assassins work their prowess, and live to tell the tale. But, the idea of watching goofy, lighthearted Odd flip around, killing clones, made him feel a little queasy. Especially in knowing that his friends' deadly skills would soon be applied against real people.

Next to him, Odd was bouncing in his seat.

Odd had the window seat, Ulrich took the aisle. In the row in the middle of the plane was Yumi, then Bella. The far aisle had Jeremie, then Aelita. The rows behind them contained the clones. Ulrich glanced over at Yumi, who was engrossed in a tale of Bella's. He knew that Aelita was also listening with rapt attention to Jeremie's story. He only wished that he could be as enthusiastic about Odd's story.

But when Odd talked, Ulrich felt strange, like this was all a joke. Odd's stories came off feeling so different. Ulrich knew Panther, a ruthless murderer. And he knew Odd, a cheerful prankster. The two didn't seem to want to mesh in his mind, and Odd's tales came off as stories, and not real life events.

The fasten seatbelt sign came on.

Bella and Yumi took one look at each other, and burst out laughing.

"I'm half expecting the stewardess to take someone hostage," Yumi laughed.

Ulrich assumed she was referencing a story Bella told her. The two girls seemed to have hit it off very well.

Ulrich fastened his seat belt. Odd didn't.

"Come on, Odd. Buckle up. You may be above the law, but let's try not to broadcast it."

Odd sighed, buckling his seat belt. "Ya know, Einstein once almost died by buckling his seatbelt."

"Wasn't his fault," Yumi called over, "besides, if Bella hadn't tripped the stewardess who held him hostage-"

"I knew her plan, I was baiting her on purpose!" Jeremie called.

Ulrich frowned, remembering the story Odd had told him. "No, Odd said that he took out the stewardess, when he saw you two at her mercy."

"Only 'cause I tripped her," Bella insisted.

"If you two had left Jeremie alone, he would have figured things out, he had a plan!" Aelita retorted.

There was a silence, before everyone laughed. "It depends on who you get the story from, I supposed," Ulrich said.

.

The six got off the plane, and headed out of town, toward the vast jungle.

"You sure you know the way?" Aelita asked Jeremie, as he led them into the Amazon. "It's been a while-"

She stopped, seeing the amused look he gave her. "You think I forgot? Relax Aelita, you'll be safe with us."

As they walked, it grew darker. The group had Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off, and the plane flight had taken most of Friday.

"What if we don't get there before sundown?"

"Chill Pinky, we're here."

Odd walked up to a large tree. He slid his fingers around, similarly, to how Jeremie had done it on his floor. He then slid his nail under a small panel, which opened. Odd typed in a thirty-two character code.

Aelita couldn't fight the thought that, Odd forgot his homework in a day, but could remember a long involved code over a year.

Just then, the bark on the tree slid over, revealing the tree to be hollow. Inside, it was metal, and lit overhead.

"Yumi, you and Bella go first," Jeremie instructed. "Then I'll send down clones."

The girls stepped in, Bella pushed a few buttons, and the bark-door, slid shut.

A few seconds it reopened, empty. Then the clones began squeezing in, until they were all down.

"We'll go next, Ulrich, you and Odd follow." He grabbed Aelita's hand and led her in.

Jeremie punched a code into a keypad, and the door slid shut. Aelita realized that it was an elevator. The door opened a few seconds later, and they stepped out.

Aelita blinked in shock at the hallway she entered. It was advanced, all bright lights and technology that she couldn't wait to examine up close. She could spend a year in this hall alone, getting to know each and every gadget.

But she couldn't. Just then, the elevator opened, and Ulrich and Odd stepped in and Jeremie led her through two sliding doors.

"This is the main room," he announced. "I can spend some time going over things later."

Aelita just gaped, wide eyed, at the huge, technology filled room. Top notch technology had been her life since she was a little girl, and this stuff fascinated her.

He led them on through a side door. "Down this hall," he gestured at a the doors lining it, "are computer rooms. Each have different applications, and are quite powerful, so no messing around with them."

He led them down another hall, and down an elevator.

"This hall has rooms. My room," he motioned to the first room on the right, "Odd's," he motioned to the next, "and Bella's. The rooms on the left are for you three." He then blinked at the clones. In order to make them not suck up energy, Jeremie had removed all traces of personality. All they could do was walk, and speak answers to easy questions. "You guys go to the cells."

Aelita frowned at him.

"Actually, they're not that bad, as cells go," Bella said. "So you don't have to worry 'bout your precious clonesys getting sad, Pinky."

Jeremie shook his head. "Look at it this way. The clones have no superstrength or superspeed, or anything that makes them anything more than normal humans. We put them in the cells in case X.A.N.A overrides my blocks and possesses them. They're stuck, and we deal with them in the morning."

She nodded, as the clones trooped off, following the instructions Jeremie had programmed them, regarding directions to the cells.

"So, tonight everyone gets their own room. You get ten minutes to settle down, then it's dinner time."

Aelita opened her door, and found herself facing a room that wouldn't look out of place in a luxurious hotel.

"Wow," she breathed. She entered the room, placing her small travel case on the bed. Due to the fact that they would be gone for a few days, Odd had suggested they each bring enough clothes to last them.

Aelita heard a knock on her door.

"Come in!"

Jeremie entered her room, smiling. "Like it? It's just a guest room, they're not as nice as our rooms, but it should suffice." He gave her an apologetic look, as if apologizing that the room wasn't nice enough.

""Jeremie, it's wonderful. It's so nice." Aelita gave a little twirl. "This is just so exciting! I can't wait to see you guys in action!"

Aelita, Yumi, and Ulrich would be watching the Nightshades make their way through the test fields via infrared cameras.

Jeremie gave a happy sigh. "It's been so long since I've been here. It's just like I remember."

.

Yumi walked into the room with Bella.

"Thanks for helping me set up, but don't you have things to unpack?"

"Me? Nah, I was just here a few weeks ago."

Yumi detected a hint of sadness in Bella's voice. "What's up? You sound down."

Bella sighed, giving Yumi a sad smile. "Things are lonely, is all. Without Panther and Icy. We used to always come here, it seems only yesterday that this place was finished and Odd was calling it Amazone. He knew how to fill the halls. Even if it was just the three of us, the place always felt alive. Now, when it's just me? Well, it feels like you're at home, alone. I never stay in one place at a time, I'm always moving around, 'cause I hate feeling alone. When it was the three of us, we'd stay somewhere for weeks."

"Well, I know your parents weren't big factors in your lives, but…"

Bella laughed. "No, they weren't. Icy forged documents, saying that we needed 'special tutors' and that we'd go to 'special camps' and 'groups'. So we were never at home or school, and we'd 'sleep over' at our 'groups' They never thought to check up on us, so we were able to leave home for weeks at a time. We spent that time at our bases, like Amazone."

Yumi looked at Bella, who sat at the edge of the bed, looking at her hands. Yumi had never thought, in a hundred years, that she would feel bad for the infamous assassin, but here she was.

"You're lonely without the boys?"

"Yeah, things are too quiet. But, what the heck! I always believed in living in the here and now. So let's get you unpacked and meet the others downstairs for food!"

.

Ulrich followed Odd downstairs.

"Odd, what are we gonna eat? I mean, it's not like anyone's been here for days, what kind of food do you have?"

Odd laughed. "Ulrich, ole pal, we ordered the meal yesterday! We had one of the clones pick it up for us, that's why they were late."

Ulrich hadn't even noticed, he had been to busy gaping at the interior of Amazone.

"You're in for a feast tonight, buddy."

Odd wasn't kidding. The blonde, spike haired boy, led Ulrich to the eating area, a bizarre mix between a grand dining hall, a family dining room, and a teen hangout.

The group dished themselves, and settled down at the table, chatting. Aelita was babbling about some techno thing, while Odd interrupted with random facts. Bella would smirk, cutting in occasionally with an acidic, sarcastic remark, generally aimed at her teammates, and sometimes Aelita. They would shoot back with an equally quelling remark, and this would sometimes escalate into a full fledge debate, before someone would settle things back down. Then Yumi referenced a XANA attack, and soon they were busy recollecting old attacks, explaining them to an amused Bella.

"Wow!" Aelita said. "Is it really eleven already? Don't you guys need your rest for tomorrow?"

"Nah," scoffed Odd.

"Sleep?" Bella smirked.

"Not really," Jeremie replied.

Ulrich exchanged a look with Yumi.

"Don't you have a bit to do tomorrow?" Yumi asked.

"Ulrich, pal, do I ever sleep? I'm always up late playing my games."

"You are?" Jeremie frowned. "Well, you know me." He said to the others. "I always work all night. Sleep has never been a big factor, we're better on less."

So they stayed up until three in the morning, eating and chatting. Ulrich noticed that Odd, Jeremie, and Bella weren't eating much. Okay, so Odd was eating like a normal person, instead of an elephant, Bella was just nibbling, and Jeremie wasn't eating at all. Pre-mission training, he supposed.

"Well," said Yumi. "I'm going to bed."

Aelita and Ulrich followed suit.

Upstairs in his room, Ulrich sat on the edge of his bed, with a surreal feeling. He didn't like it, he felt like he was slow on the uptake. The girls had adjusted happily to the strange double life his friends had, but Ulrich couldn't wrap his mind around it.

Goofy, lighthearted, happy-go-lucky Odd, a serious, threatening murderer.

Frail, shy, insecure Jeremie, the ruthless, feared assassin.

It was too bizarre. But, Ulrich was exhausted, especially considering the time difference. With these thoughts, he fell asleep.

.

Downstairs, with all the civilians gone to bed, Jeremie broached the topic of attack strategy.

He pulled out his laptop.

"Bella, I need everything you know. Who, where, when, what, how, and why."

Bella began telling Jeremie who was behind the attacks, where they lived, when they planned on attacking, what their targets were, how they were planning on attacking, and why they were doing this.

"Cool," said Odd. "Now, prioritize. Who is the biggest threat? Who is the most immediate threat?"

Jeremie began running hacking programs on each person. Bella gave the boys what she knew about each person.

"Aaron Ernendi? I once got a job from him. Rich guy, likes his comforts, and doesn't like things going wrong. A bit spoiled, really, and not a very nice guy."

"Well, yeah!" Odd chimed in. "He's planning on-what's he doing Jeremie?"

"He's been promised half a million dollars to nuke Beijing."

"That sounds up his alley," Bella snorted. "Never liked the Chinese since his Chinese wife left him. He's the type who thinks that he's rich and crazy enough to have as many wives as he wants, and so he paid a bunch of hot floozies to decorate his home with. Some of them run of with a half million, he rarely pays too much attention, but the Chinese lady robbed one of his mansions blind, and married one of his main connections."

"You seem very knowledgeable on the situation," Odd said.

"I should. That's all he talked about when he hired me to knock her off."

The three continued talking strategy until the others came back to the eating area.

"Were you up all night?" Yumi asked, incredulous, as she entered. "It's noon time!"

"It is?" Bella glanced at her clock. "Well, would ya look at that. You three sleeping beauties get some chow. We're going to prepare for our practice sessions."

"Sleeping beauties? I'm a guy, you know."

Bella gave him a flirtatious wave and a wink. "I know, but you're such a pretty boy, that-" She stopped, seeing the look Yumi gave her. She laughed, "Don't worry, I know a faithful guy when I see him. This one will stay with you, you have my word." Jeremie sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You get a good night sleep?" He asked Aelita. "I feel bad about the room I gave you, I-"

"Relax! It was fine, I've never slept so hard." Aelita smiled at him.

Jeremie relaxed slightly. "Well, I'm going to go prepare with Odd and Bella. After the practice, I'll show you around!"

Aelita nodded vigorously, and Jeremie left.

.

Aelita stood with her friends in a room, filled with screens. Odd had led them there, and they were now watching.

"Alrighty!" Odd's voice came from the speakers overhead. "Here's how things are gonna roll. Our goal, take out Jim."

Aelita still felt it hard to believe that, for practice, all the guards and targets were the clones of Kadic's teachers. Aelita looked at one of the screen, where Jim Clone was busy 'working'. On the other screens were numerous hallways, control rooms, ect. Each camera also had sound, which just reported patrolling feet.

"We're gonna wear our ninja suits, so, for the record. Bella's the one with widest sleeves, and the only girl, Jeremie's got wider sleeves and the dark blue belt, and I'm the one with no accessories."

"Panther, are you done?" Bella's exasperated voice came over.

"Question," Yumi asked, quickly. "Do the clones have real guns?"

"Yup!" Came Odd's cheerful answer. "Now on with the show!"

Aelita watched the cameras. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. The clone guards paced as if nothing was wrong. Ulrich and Yumi watched the screen that showed the entrance. Aelita watched too, when suddenly she pointed.

On of one of the screens, a dark figure dropped from a vent onto the ground. The almost bell sleeves, along with the clearly feminine form under her tight concealing garb, gave Bella away.

She crept silently down the hall, all but disappearing when she pressed against the wall. The patrolling guard walked down the hall, past where she lurked.

In one fluid movement, Bella flicked her wrist, reaching into her sleeves, withdrawing a hypodermic, and slithered behind him.

In a flash, her arm snaked out toward him.

Then she snapped back into the darkness, as the guard paused, feeling the slight prick her needle gave.

A second later, he crumpled to the ground.

Bella ran down the hallway, leaving her prey behind.

On another screen, Odd was backing down a hall. He was pursued by two guards. He kept backing away, until one guard radioed for backup.

An information screen showed the call being traced, intercepted, changed, and sent to the other guards, by Jeremie, who was just outside the building. The guards at the door received the false message, and set off down a corridor, and toward the far side of the premises.

Jeremie then made his way toward the building, punching a few codes into the door, and entered the building.

Odd launched himself at his assailants.

They appeared shocked at his sudden attack, and attempted to defend themselves, but after a few well placed hits from Odd left one unconscious, the other dead.

Odd then headed off toward a control room, where, after taking out the guard inside, quickly malfunctioned a piece of equipment, creating a diversion.

The guards ran toward it to investigate. Their vacated posts were soon passed through by Jeremie, moving swiftly and silently.

Jeremie headed toward a busy hallway. Bella quickly made her way to where Jeremie was headed.

Her timing was perfect. She dropped from the ceiling, dodge a quick shot from a guard, before finishing him off. She then disappeared, and reappeared, dropping the body in front of a few guards. They immediately rushed to him, and Jeremie slipped by unnoticed.

Now calls for help were flying from guards all over the grounds, only to be absorbed by the program Jeremie installed when the first guards originally made a calls.

Working like clockwork, never communicating, Odd and Bella evacuated the hallways and Jeremie slipped like a wraith through the abandoned corridors.

Aelita, Ulrich, and Yumi watched. Every time Odd or Bella engaged an opponent in combat, they seemed to only just avoid the shots. They would then make their moves so quick, that half the time it seemed like they were dropping of their own accord.

And still Jeremie made his way through the halls.

Once, one guard stayed behind, despite the fact that the others had rushed off to investigate a disturbance, planted by Odd.

As the guard closed in on Jeremie's location, Aelita felt her heart speed up. But Jeremie heard him coming.

The instant he rounded the corner, Jeremie's deadly aim made sure that he remained undetected.

Jeremie was fast approaching Jim Clone's quarters. The others were distracting and taking out any guard that stood in his way.

Jim Clone's room was accessible by only one, well guarded door. It became obvious to the Lyoko Warriors, why they had used the plan they were using.

Odd arrived at the door first, flipping, and avoiding fire. He would back off, but the guards refused to follow, as they knew of Bella's presence. As soon as she arrived, the two assassins made their way off, luring the guards, who were only aware of two assassin's presences, followed.

Once they were gone, Jeremie walked to the door. He typed a few buttons, and the door slid open.

Jim Clone's back was to the door, he didn't hear it open, though he seemed uneasy.

Jeremie paused in the doorway, as if waiting for him to turn around.

Jim Clone never did.

Jeremie's wrist flicked, as he unsheathed a knife from his sleeve. A toss later and their target had been acquired.

**Now review! Or the Nightshades will come for you, mwa ha ha :)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Six**

**Gah, I've tried writing this chapter three times, and it keeps deleting itself. Let's try again…**

The gang headed out of the forest, toward town. After a lazy afternoon of touring Amazone, trying out some of the less dangerous gadgets the Nightshades had acquired, and just hanging out, the group had decided to eat out.

They were heading for a predestined pickup spot, where Odd had gotten a ride.

Jeremie's eyebrows went waaaay up, disapprovingly, at the stretch limo Odd had ordered.

"Aw, come on, Einstein! It's not every day we get to ride one of these things!"

Jeremie saw the pleading looks on the others eyes, and sighed. "Alright, fine fine. But so you guys know, we're trying to keep a low profile. Try not to draw attention to yourselves."

As they filed in, Aelita whispered to Jeremie, "You should have said something before we left."

He sighed again. "That wouldn't have stopped Odd. You know how he is on Lyoko, should give you an idea how he usually is."

Aelita smiled, rolling her eyes. "Yes, alright, I can see how that'd work out."

Soon the group had pulled into a restaurant, one of Bella's choosing.

"I'm the one who lives here the most, I know the best places!" She said, as the limo pulled into the fancy restaurant's parking lot. "Besides," she muttered to Yumi, "Panthy already got to choose, and you do **not **wanna let Icy be in charge of food." She rolled her eyes.

Yumi smirked. "Did Odd usually eat Jeremie's food?"

Bella frowned. "Not usually. Panthy usually just got as much as he wanted."

Yumi laughed. "No wonder he's always hungry. He's not used to rations."

Bella frowned, a look of concern on her face. "Panthy? Rations…" she bit down a smile. "Has he ever gone feral on the person handing out lunches?"

"Rosa? Noooo… Why?"

Bella laughed, rolling her eyes. "He's crazy about food, you probably know. But once I stole the food and we got into a full-fledged fight over it. Weapons, fists, the whole she-bang." The group entered the restaurant, and Bella lowered her voice as the group headed to their table. "It was pretty intense. 'Course, we were only eight, but that's what I think of whenever I think about depriving Panthy of his food."

"No one deprives me of **my **chow," Odd growled from the other side of the table.

Aelita frowned. "When do you eat? If you don't right before missions, or before training, and you train every day…"

Odd shook his head, mouth already full of bread that they had handed out. "Well, no, you've almost got it. But we do eat before training. Well, Jeremie doesn't, but that's something else entirely. Now sleep? That's not something we do a lot of. We have the most bizarre sleep schedule-"

"One that we're going to be sticking to, again," Jeremie cut in, smiling.

Odd shrugged. "Eh well! I never really fell off it, you know!" He turned to the others. "See, the thing is, we don't really sleep at night."

Bella nodded. "A good night's sleep can set you bad a week. Sleeping really screws up mission mode."

Jeremie shrugged. "So we don't. Well, not really. Usually we do about two cycles at off times. A single sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes, so doing two of those takes about 3 hours, and that's really the longest you wanna sleep at a time. Otherwise, you get off track. This way keeps you always alert. And if you do a two cycles in the morning, and two at night, or thereabouts, you'll end up with an accurate amount of sleep."

Ulrich frowned. "Is that why Odd only sleeps a few hours at night, some during the day at classes, that kind of thing?"

Jeremie raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you stayed on top of things?"

Odd smirked. "You're not the only one who stayed on top of things, ya know."

Jeremie nodded, approvingly.

Bella rolled her eyes. "You two wouldn't have had the trouble of staying on top of things if you'd never left." Yumi noted the sound of hurt in Bella's voice, and realized it must've been hard when she learned her two best friends were leaving her to go to school.

Jeremie looked down, shrugging. "Our parents were getting suspicious."

"But you could have kept going! Especially at a boarding school! How hard would it have been to tell the school you were leaving and tell your parents you were staying? How hard would it have bee, Icy, Panthy?"

Odd frowned. "You're being unfair, Bella. You know why we made our decisions. I thought Icy explained it to you."

"Oh, he did. He did. And now I know where your priorities lie. I get it. Those six years meant nothing in the end. Because you were willing to drop _**everything **_because you needed to get out."

Jeremie frowned. "I didn't know you felt this way. I thought you were okay with us leaving."

"I-"

Bella's words were cut short by the manager coming to see what was wrong.

The three regained their composer with lightning speed, claiming it was just an argument, and yes they were ready to order, if they'd please send a waiter over.

The subject wasn't broached for the rest of the night, and eventually the group set to chattering. Yumi worried that the argument might negatively impact their battle. It seemed realistic to assume that the group probably had fights before which didn't hurt their fighting, but she was still worried.

After they got back home, Jeremie, Bella, and Odd were gonna hit the sac for a few hours, just to keep themselves refreshed. Then would come more planning and research.

Jeremie and Bella would leave at 3:00 PM, to scout out their next target's base, while Odd ran control on their mission, assessing and sorting the information they dug up on their Chinese hating friend.

That night, the group turned in at the same time.

.

Yumi woke up at 2:30 AM, in a cold sweat. She had just had a dream, a nightmare, involving her friends. She couldn't remember it, but she knew it had something to do with this assassin thing.

She tiptoed out of her room, unable to sleep, and knocked on Ulrich's door.

"Erg," he groaned, opening the door. "Yumi, what is it?"

"I-I," she trailed off, looking down. "I don't know. I just-I mean…"

He smiled, sleepily. "Come it," he said, gesturing inward.

Yumi followed him in, sitting next to him on the bed. "I'm sorry, I… had a dream…" she paused before blurting, "I'm just really not used to this. I understand, I get what they're doing, but I'm just freaked out. I can quell it, but I just as I feel I'm getting used to Lyoko, some new obstacle comes up, and just as I'm getting used to that, something else… and then this! It's just mind boggling. I feel the time that I take to get used to this is getting longer. Like before long, any time something new comes up, I'll just be 'I can't deal with this!'"

Ulrich smiled. "I'm in the same boat, Yumi. This whole thing… it's like, ack. How did this happen?"

Yumi sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

He put his arm around her. "I'm glad it's not just me."

She smiled, putting a hand over his. "Life never does slow down. My parents are always bugging me about getting my homework and chores done. They always threaten that when I move out to college, I'll never keep up." She heaved a sigh, with a tired laugh. "If they knew what I was going through, they'd realize that, seriously, college is gonna be a cakewalk. At least you don't need to get up at 2:30 in the morning and trudge through three feet of snow, to deactivate a tower."

He grinned, tightening his arm around her shoulders. "Or learn that your roommate's an assassin, who's been hiding bombs in his closet for two years."

Yumi laughed quietly, 'til she realized he was serious. "Sometimes I try to picture my life if I had run the other direction from that electricity ball, that first day." She shook her head, frowning. "It's so hard."

"Yeah," he whispered.

Yumi yawned, standing up. "Well, I should head to bed. Bella promised to show me the watchtower before her and Jeremie head out." She turned, smiling at him, only illuminated by the lights filtering under the door.

"Thanks for talking," she said, smiling. "I'll see you in the morning."

Ulrich nodded. "Good night, Yumi." He didn't say it, but he was glad for her talking to him too. It helped to know that he wasn't the only person who had trouble getting used to things.

**Eh, kinda short. Still, please, I'm begging you, tell me what you think in a review! Not much happened here, I know. Still, please review!**


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